Karnataka: Chitradurga which literary means Picture Fort or picturesque fort is one of its kinds, huge and very well built with everything intact. It has an umbrella shaped tall hill due to which it was called Chitra-kal-durga which later became Chitradurga. It is located on hill in the middle of a valley that is created by River Vedavati. There are actually two rivers here one is Vedavati while other is Tungabhadra River in the northwest side of the fort. There are seven circles on the fort surrounds seven hills of Chinmuladri range. You can see gigantic rock features at the backdrop of beautiful valley along with huge rock towers at the fort ground. The entire fort covers approximately 1500 acres of area. Now you can imagine how vast the fort was spread.The hill on which the major part of fort and city lies is the oldest rock of granite formation in India. The highest hill at the fort is 976 metres which is 3202 feet. Chitradurga Fort is located in Chitradurga District of Karnataka state. The other name of Chitradurga Fort used by British was Chitaldoorg. The major part of fort was built in the eighteenth century by the Nayakas of Chitradurga using Granite stone but currently it is in ruins. As it was built in stages, the foremost part was built sometime in tenth century while the major expansion took place in eighteenth century. The fort has seen several rulers since its inception like Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Nayakas of Chitradurga, etc. This fort has seen three major battles between Nayakas and Hyder Ali in 1760s, 1770s and 1799. Now it is under the ownership of Government of Karnataka and can be viewed by general public.As there is an interesting story attached to every ancient place in India Chitradurga cannot be behind. The legend says that during the period of Mahabharata a giant who used to eat humans lived in this mountain area. His name was Hidimbasura. He lived with her sister Hidimbi. When Pandvas came to this place during their exile Bheema had a fight with Hidimba and killed him. People lived in surrounding area relieved from the fear of giant and then lived peacefully thereafter. Bhima married to Hidimba’s sister Hidimbi as she fell in love with him and had a son named Ghatotkacha. You can see an iron plated gigantic pillar with a circumference of 3 metres and height of 2 metres is located here. it is known as drum of Bheema, the second son of Kunti, the mother of Pandvas.Chitradurga Fort is a beautiful historic monument built on top of the hill using stones. Kalian Kote /Ukinna Kote/Elu Suttina Kote is responsible for popularity of the Chitradurga Fort. This was created in various stages and includes seven huge walls. The credit to build it goes to Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, the Palegar Nayakas. The other features of the fort are as under:
- Eighteen temples on the upper part of fort (Hidimbeswara temple among them)
- One big temple in the lower fort
- Nineteen gateways
- Thirty eight posterior entrances
- Four secret entrances
- One mosque
- One palace
- Several oil pits
- Grain warehouses
- Interconnected Water tanks for rain water harvesting
Nearby places worth visiting:
- Jamia Masjid built by Tipu Sultan
- Ashoka Siddapura (926 A D) and Brahmagiri Village (3 BC)
- Chandravalli (450 AD)
- Molakalmuru (fortification and textiles)
- Jogimati hill station
- Vani Vilas Sagar
- Holalkere (10th century Jain settlements)
- Hampi (World Heritage site 120 km)
Chitradurdurga Fort is just 200 kilometres away from Bengaluru and is well connected by road as well as trains. Chitradurga is located at the junction of two important highways, NH4 (Bengaluru – Pune Highway) and NH13 (Solapur – Mangalore Highway). Bengaluru is the nearest airport while Davanagere is the nearest rail head.RUCHI MAHAJANзайм на карту без отказов круглосуточновзять кредит онлайн